Zora Neale Hurston is most well-known for her literary contributions to the Harlem Renaissance, namely through her 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. However, Hurston’s work extended beyond novels to address several artistic mediums and areas of study, including dance, film, theater, anthropology, journalism, and more. In the years leading up to and immediately following her passing, Hurston had fallen into poverty and relative obscurity, ostracized from other notable peers like Langston Hughes and eventually buried in an unmarked grave. In 1975, fifteen years after Hurston's death, author Alice Walker would revitalize public interest in Hurston and her work after publishing an article, "Looking for Zora", which documented her efforts to find her grave and install a marker, labeling her “A Genius of the South”.
Though Hurston’s name has reentered public consciousness, many of her contributions outside of her novels have been continuously overlooked. This section seeks to highlight various areas of study that Hurston played a major role in, citing those who influenced her along the way, as well as those whose works have been influenced by her (often unsung) contributions. The sections are:
